Winter 2015
|
TOWER
7
Changing the World, One Life at a Time
A
tragic accident altered
the course of MEGAN
SOUCY’s ’14 life forever.
In 2012, she was on a guided all-
terrain vehicle tour when her ATV
swerved off the trail. Although Soucy
was incapacitated by her injuries for
the next four months, she chose to
view the incident as providential.
“The experience changed who I am
and what I care about,” she revealed.
“During the time I spent healing, I
thought a lot about ‘what am I doing
here?’ I had always been passionate
about volunteering and environmental
conservation, but it wasn’t something I
threw myself into. After I recuperated,
I started looking for opportunities to
make a difference.”
With the momentum from her
accident propelling her forward, Soucy
threw herself into volunteering. On
campus, she co-founded the student
organization ‘Oxfam at KU,’ with
political science major KIM JUNE ’15.
Although they started small, the club
quickly attracted other students who
wanted to support social justice reforms
while taking immediate action to
generate change.
In summer 2013, following the suc-
cess of her efforts on campus, Soucy
decided to spread her wings, and
headed to the Dominican Republic
for two summer volunteer internships,
with A.C.E.S. (Advancing Communities
by Educating and Serving) North
America and the Mahatma Gandhi
Foundation. While in the Dominican,
she worked for 3½ weeks at a summer
camp which ran a literacy program for
local youth, and coordinated other
teambuilding and educational activities.
In addition, Soucy spoke with local
young women about their bodies and
self-esteem, as part of the Gandhi
Foundation’s “Mariposas Project.” After
returning to the U.S., she visited her
hometown of Basking Ridge, N.J., and
then headed to Boston to assume her
spot in Oxfam America’s Change
Initiative program.
“I met wonderful, likeminded people,”
Soucy recalled. “One of the friends I
met in Boston told me about the
opportunity to volunteer in Africa with
AGERTO [a nonprofit, non-govern-
mental organization which aims to
create lasting solutions to poverty
and environmental sustainability].”
When Soucy returned to KU in fall
2013, she made it her goal to volunteer
in Africa that summer. It wouldn’t be
easy. AGERTO’s program was offered
through the University of Idaho, and
the expenses were formidable. Soucy
wouldn’t receive any compensation for
the work she did while there – it was,
after all, a volunteer internship.
“I thought it was too expensive,”
Soucy said. “But I went to the Office
of International Admissions and spoke
with NICOLE BECKER M ’11. She
told me I could apply for the Benjamin
Megan Soucy ’14
volunteers at an
orphanage in Africa.
A. Gilman International Scholarship,
which would cover $2,500 of the trip.
I won, and took out a loan to pay for
the rest. This kind of opportunity
doesn’t come by too often.”
That summer, Soucy traveled to Togo,
Africa. She was there for four weeks,
to upgrade AGERTO’s social media
outreach and revamp their fundraising
initiatives. In her free time, she helped
with meals and baths at a local orphan-
age. And, she can’t wait for her next
opportunity to help impact others’ lives.
“I think the reason I went to Africa
was because I wanted to know what
it was like to experience being in a
place that I had only read about,” she
explained. “After graduation, I want
to work in the nonprofit industry, and
do something that leaves an impact.
That’s what’s most important to me
right now.”
“It’s really empowering to have a group of voices
come together for one cause”
— MEGAN SOUCY ’14
